Americans who watched the political conventions on television opted for news networks with partisan fan bases to a degree unseen in recent years, another sign of an increasingly divided electorate as the nation hurtles toward the November election. Fox News, whose prime time is a destination for conservatives, accounted for close to half — 45 percent — of the viewership of the Republican National Convention this week across the six major news networks, Nielsen said on Friday. In 2016, that figure was about 30 percent; in 2012, 36 percent. During the Republican convention, MSNBC lost about 70 percent of its average viewership from the Democratic conclave. Fox News’s average viewership more than tripled.

Source: New York Times August 28, 2020 23:11 UTC